Former professional poker player Ernest Scherer III will be spending the rest of his life in jail after he has been convicted for the murder of his parents. Scherer was handed the life sentence on Friday.
One of the most talked-about murder cases in California this year came to its conclusion on Friday, as former
professional poker player Ernest Scherer III was handed a life sentence for the murder of his own parents.
Scherer was found guilty of slaying his parents back in 2008 after facing serious economical trouble, and was believed to have carried out the crime in order to secure himself more than $1 million in inheritance, the
San Francisco Chronicle reported.
According to authorities, Scherer's poker career had been dwindling and he was upset his parents did not help him out financially.
Both parents had been beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed, investigators said.
The 32-year-old former poker pro was found guilty in a trial in March after Alameda County sheriff's investigators linked him to the murders following a series of suspicious behaviors on the night of the tragedy.
Among the most incriminating pieces of evidence was surveillance video footage showing Scherer's 2001 Camaro convertible in the area of his parents' home around the time the couple were killed.
Although no direct evidence was found to link Scherer directly to the murders in the family home in Pleasonton, California, the evidence was substantial enough for a jury to find him guilty.
Scherer received his verdict and only made a brief statement, saying that "his parents loved him and he loved them."
He will now face consecutive life sentences without parole.